The post-political meaning of the concept of commons: the regulation of the urban commons in Bologna

ABSTRACT

While the concept of Commons has acquired politicized meanings, it has also acquired some de-politicized ones. This article analyses a case of de-politicization of this concept, occurring in the city of Bologna, where the City Council has recently adopted the ‘Regulation for the Care and Regeneration of the Urban Commons’. Through an interpretative approach that uses critical discourse analysis, the article illustrates a form of post-politicization of the concept that aims to suture the social space without fully succeeding. The article concludes by stressing the necessity and urgency of the struggle for the politicized meaning of the concept of Commons.

KEYWORDS:

• Commons
• urban commons
• post-political configuration
• Bologna
• collaborative governance

Acknowledgement

I wish to thank the editor Ronan Paddison, the associate editor Mark Purcell, and the anonymous reviewers for their valuable and enriching comments that greatly improved the manuscript. I also thank Massimo Rubino for his criticalfeedback on earlier drafts.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributor

Iolanda Bianchi is a PhD Student in Politics, Policies and International Relation at the UAB and in Regional Planning and Public Policy at the University IUAV of Venice. She holds an MSc in Urban Regeneration from the University College of London and a Master's degree in Architecture from the University of Ferrara. She is a Research Fellow at the IGOP, UAB.